When dioceses and religious orders seek protection in federal bankruptcy courts, they do so to protect their assets and embarrassing secrets from public sex abuse and cover-up civil trials.

he Crosiers’ decision today is no different. Church leaders in Phoenix and Minnesota must use every means at their disposal to publicize this bankruptcy and allow victims of sexual abuse plenty of time to learn about the bankruptcy’s deadlines. We urge them to be open and transparent about the process and make public all evidence of child sexual abuse in their files.

We also hope that the Crosier leadership does not use the bankruptcy to hide decades of abuse and cover-up, or to force victims into shame and silence because they did not learn of arbitrary court deadlines.

The Crosier Order trained and housed some of the most heinous predators who worked in the United States—men like Gerald Funcheon, who after abusing in California, Hawaii, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Florida, and overseas as a chaplain, was finally banned from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for abusing children. Now is not the time for silence and secrecy.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)